Photos of Royal Marines at memorial service for the Cockleshell Heroes

Royal Marines have taken part in a memorial service to commemorate 77 years since one of the most daring operations of World War Two. The service was held on Saturday 20th July at the Operation Frankton monument in Le-Verdon-Sur-Mer, southwest France, close to the mouth of the Gironde estuary. It was attended by 21 personnel from 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines. In 1942, the top-secret mission – named Operation Frankton – saw ten Royal Marines deploy from the submarine HMS Tuna, near the memorial, in two-man canoes. They became known as the Cockleshell Heroes, after using canoes to plant limpet mines on enemy ships. Only two men survived the mission.